Self-sealing, soluble coffee tablet and process of making same



coffee unit, or tablet,

-z'en of the United States,

Patented A r. 23, 19 25.

omrsns'rmas Parent OFFICE.-

FRANCIS m m 9 D E QWM as ess an? wane W- wit ess as BROOKLYN, NEW ORK, Assfermions I BY MESN'E ASSIGNMENTS, T0 THERMOKEPT oonronarxon, A conronnrion ornELAwAaE.

. sELF-snALfNG, SOLUBLE COFFEE TABLETAND rno'ofiss or nurse sane.

1T0 Drawing. 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FnANors P. MoCoLL, a citizen of Canada, residing at Ridgewood, in the county of, Bergen, State of New Jersey, and WAmnn .W. W ILLISON, a citiresiding at Brook lyn, in the county of Kings and State of- New York, have made a-certain new and useful Invention in Self-Sealing, Soluble Toffee Tablets and Processes of Making the Same, of which the following is a spebification.

This invention relates to a product and process by which process a self-sealing, readily soluble, but greatly compressed, is produced directly from the roasted whole coffee bean, without additional ingredients or intermediate steps the of grinding, and without any material loss of the essential or valuableconstituents of the coffee bean.

It is the object of our invention to pro duce a new and valuable coffee unit possessmg the aforesaid characteristics, and others hereinafter setout, by applying a crushing stress to the whole coffee bean, in the man ner and under the condition stated more fully below, so as tc completely break all the coffee cells and atthe same time compress the broken cell mass and contents, in

desired quantity, into a finished unit or "---tablet.

We have found that by thus crushing the roasted coffeebean, or a desired number of roasted coffee beans, in-a confined spce, oiI contained in the cells and fibre ill, not only be set free and will completely saturate the coffee fibre, thereby beingplaced in a favorable condition to be readily able,

dissolved by the hot water when coffee ;is made, but willat the same time serve as a binding and sealin medium for the cofiee fi re to form the finished article, which is tiereb made more or less impregnable to moisture and air. By our invention, we are therefore, to make. a self sealing and self-binding article in a very compact and desirable form.

erably hot from the roaster,

In practicing our invention, ,we take the whole properly roasted coffee'beans, prefso as to avoid all possible loss of aroma and volatile con stituents, and place these in desired or measured quantity} in a suitable press or mold.

application filed December'22,1920. Serial 1%.432517.

Sufiicient pressure is then applied to completely crush the individual bean and to shape the unit or tablet in a very compact and finished form. This pressure breaks the favorable condition for beingtaken up by the hot water when coffee is made. The free oil serves several very important functions; first it acts as a binder for the crushed coffee fibre, and second, as a means for coating the unit, or tablet, and in this sense the tablet is self-sealing, and the oil provides a finished coating for the unit which aids materially in preventing loss of the aroma and flavor of thecoffee.

The press forms no part of the present invention, and may be of any desired type, but must be of sufficient capacity to'fully crush the individual beans which are placed into the press cylinder, and to form these into vacompact unit. Obviously any number of units may be simultaneously formed in any desired shape or size. For conven- "ience of ho'usholders, however,- we have selected the unit of a size sufficient to make a large cup of coffee, and we find the coffee made 'from tlieseunits to be stronger and superior to that obtained from an equal quantity of steel out, or pulverized cofiee. It is obvious that the size and shape of the tablet may be adjusted to suit conditions, and r the purpose for which it is to he used Without departing our invention.

When the units or tablets have been preared and as the come from the ress they. P a y P 7 contalners and sealed,

unit or tablet disintegrates quickly when from the spirit and object of put into hot water for making coffee, and in a very short time is ready for use, without the addition of any clarifying agents. We

attribute these desirable qualities'to the fact that there'is little or no loss of the aroma and flavor after the roasting process, and

and as little or no loss in flavor, or-in the coffee bean itself, is sustained, any desired blend or flavor within the limitsof the coffee: products may be assured with reasonable certainty, and each individual can suit his own tastes within these limits.

Having now set forth the objects and nature of our invention, what we claim as new and useful and of our own invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is: i

1. The herein described process of forming a pur coffee unit, which consists in subjecting the whole roasted coffee bean to a crushing stress, and causing said crushed constituents to be formed into units andimpregnated in its own oil. v

2. The herein described process of forming self-sealing, soluble pure coffee units, which consists in subjecting the "whole roasted coffee bean toa crushing stress, in a confined space, and causing the constituents of said bean to form said units impregnated in its own oil and sealed. x

3. The hereindescribed process of forming self-sealing, soluble .pure coffee units, which comprises subjecting hot, whole roasted coffee beans, in desired quantities, to a crushing stress, in confined spaces, to thereby disrupt the coffee cells and, shape thereby freeing the oil to form a binding and sealing medium and shaping the units saturated 1n said 0il,-then relieving said stress and causing constituents of said beans to act as a binding and sealing medium in forming said units.

5. The herein" descibed process of making coffee units, which comprises transferring hot roasted Whole coffee beans directly from the roaster to a unit forming device thereby avoiding the loss of much aroma, then subjecting said beans to a crushing stress insaid device to crush the coffee cells and free the oil, causing the constituents-of said beans to form said units and permitting the oil to completely saturate the crushed mass to act as a binding and sealing medium.

6. A cofiee'nnit consisting of the roasted whole pure coffeebean in crushed condition and in compressed self-sealed form.

7 A coffee unit consisting of the roasted Whole pure coffee beanin crushed condition, andsaturated with the "oil content of said bean to thereby form a sealing-coat. n

8. A coffee unit consisting of the roasted Whole pure coffee bean in crushed condition and compressed form, saturated and sealed with the fluid content of said'bean.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto .set our hands on this 16th day of December FRANCIS P. McCOLL. WALTER XMTYILLISON. 

